The History of Home Ventilation

The History of Home Ventilation

People have known about the need for ventilation in their dwellings since open fires were first used to warm human abodes millennia ago. Today, we have home ventilation guidelines incorporated into our Broken Arrow building codes, but this wasn't always the norm. The understanding of how much fresh air was needed to replace stale, polluted indoor air evolved over centuries of experimentation, trial and error.Here's a look at key advancements in the evolution of ventilation from natural to mechanical means:

17th Century

In 1631, England's King Charles I determined that due to home heating, bad indoor air was causing health problems. He decreed that dwellings in England must have ceilings at least 10 feet high, and windows taller than their width to provide ample natural ventilation.

Early 19th Century

In 1835 when the British Houses of Parliament were rebuilt, a ventilation system was added. Outdoor air entered into a heating chamber, then went across steam pipes before being distributed through the building's ductwork.

Late 19th Century

After completing various studies and analysis, American physician J. Billings recommended in 1893 that a minimum of 30 cfm of ventilation per occupant was needed in buildings, but 60 cfm was ideal. That minimum rate was adopted by ASHVE (American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers) in 1895. This amount of airflow could only be achieved using mechanical ventilation made possible by advancements in the electric power industry.

20th Century

Massachusetts made 30 cfm per occupant of ventilation the law in 1914. By 1925, this minimum was adopted in 22 states. In 1925, ASHRE published the first code of minimum requirements for home heating and ventilation.

21st Century

Nowadays, there are various mechanical ventilation methods used in homes and other buildings, such as:

• Exhaust fans that expel humid kitchen and bathroom air.

• Whole-house fans that draw stale air up and send it out through attic vents.

• Supply systems that introduce outdoor air into the HVAC's return ducting.

• Balanced whole-house systems with dedicated intake and exhaust ducting.

To learn about your home ventilation options for better indoor air quality, contact us at Air Assurance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.

Supply Vents vs Return Vents: Identifying HVAC Vents in Your Home

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Most homes in our area have central, forced-air HVAC systems that distribute conditioned air through a system of supply and return ducts. The ducts are installed inside the walls, ceilings or floors, so all that's visible are covered HVAC vents at the duct openings. Learning more about these vents and their purpose can help you keep your HVAC system working reliably and efficiently, so you enjoy a comfortable home.

The Basics of Supply and Return HVAC Vents

An HVAC system with proper air distribution has a ductwork design that incorporates a certain number of supply ducts for conditioned air delivery, as well as return ducts to bring stale air back through the air handler to be reconditioned. You can easily tell the purpose of a duct by which of these two types of vent covers it has:

Supply register.

Individual rooms in a home generally have one or more supply vents with louvered covers called registers. This kind of cover typically has a built-in damper that opens and closes with either a roller or lever control. Although the damper control lets you close the register completely, doing so can have serious consequences for your HVAC system, including airflow imbalances, a loss of energy efficiency and a greater likelihood of equipment breakdowns or failures. To avoid such problems, it's best to always keep your registers fully open, even in seldom-used rooms.

Return grille.

The HVAC ducts that return air through the system have stationary vent covers called grilles. Your duct system design dictates how many return vents you have, but typically, there are just one or two on each level of a home. Airflow restrictions on the return side can cause the same efficiency and performance problems as closed supply vents, so once you identify your return grilles, make sure they're never obstructed by long window treatments, furniture, area rugs or other household items.

If you're experiencing discomforting issues like uneven cooling or a decline in cool air output in your Broken Arrow home, contact us today at Air Assurance for an expert assessment of your HVAC vents and duct system.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.

Control Fall Allergies by Improving Your Home's Air Quality

If you suffer from allergies, seasonal changes can be a bad time. Suddenly, fall allergies you forgot you had will reappear, making you and other vulnerable family members miserable. The problem is exacerbated by the airtightness of many modern homes. They're built to intentionally keep warm air from escaping in the winter and from infiltrating inside in the summer. However, this has the unfortunate side effect of trapping dirty, allergen-filled air in the house.However, don't despair. There are effective strategies for protecting indoor air quality as well as your health. Try some of the following:

• Keep allergens outside. Close windows and doors during days when allergen levels are high in the outside air. Brush pets before they come inside, and take off your shoes and outerwear upon entering the house and leave these items by the door.

• Clean the house frequently, and make sure you wash bedding at least weekly. Store unused clothing in plastic boxes or bags. Try to limit the display of knick-knacks, trophies, picture frames, etc., since these are notorious dust collectors, and household dust is full of allergens.

• Change the air filter in your furnace or heat pump regularly to preserve indoor air quality. Inspect it once a month and change it when it looks clogged or dirty.

• Your home should have effective mechanical ventilation to ensure a regular exchange of fresh outside air with stale indoor air. Use exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom, and leave them on for 10 or 15 minutes after you're finished in that room. If ventilation is pulling more allergens inside, consider a whole-house air purifying system that works in tandem with your forced-air HVAC system.

• Control moisture levels in your home, since unusual humidity levels inside, either too high or too low, can create a welcoming atmosphere for allergens. A whole-house humidifier can help counter the adverse effects of dry indoor air in the winter.

For more advice on improving indoor air quality during the fall allergy season, please contact us at Air Assurance, providing quality HVAC and air quality services in the Broken Arrow area since 1985.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Olena Zaskochenko/Shutterstock”

Dust In Your Tulsa Home: Learn How to Keep It Under Control

Controlling dust is a never-ending battle. You can go through your home and dust and clean everything, only for it to come back in a few days. Dust doesn't just magically appear in the air; it has a source. Most dust consists of a combination of dirt, skin cells, insect fragments, mold, pet dander and fibers from carpet, clothing and furniture.

Many times the ingredients in the dust in our homes are the culprits behind sickness that we may experience. Dust can be the root cause for allergies, breathing disorders, heart disease, cancers and a host of other diseases. Samples of the dust in our homes can be sent to laboratories to be tested to find out exactly what is in it. This can help determine what steps you need to take to protect your family's health.

Your HVAC system plays a big part in distributing dust throughout your home. There are several ways that you can improve the air quality in your home and reduce dust:

• Proper home ventilation. Many of our newer homes are so well-sealed that there is little way for indoor air to be exchanged with outdoor air. A properly operating vent system on your HVAC equipment will take care of this.

• Air cleaning systems. Installed in your furnace, these remove and destroy contaminants before they reenter your home.

• BBJ Microbiocide. This kills mold, mildew and fungi for up to six months in your indoor air handler coil.

• Germicidal lights. Ultraviolet light dramatically reduces contaminants, such as mold, mildew and bacteria.

• Ductwork cleaning. Your ductwork is host to a lot of dust and contaminants that can be removed.

These things can dramatically reduce the pollutants that are harmful to your health.  Our Air Assurance Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing experts will be glad to answer any questions that you may have, so feel free to contact us at any time. We have been serving the Greater Tulsa Metropolitan Area since 1985.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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Three Pollutants Homeowners Should Monitor For

The air quality in your Oklahoma home is important. Any number of pollutants could be hanging around waiting to cause trouble. Among the most concerning pollutants that homeowners should worry about are radon, carbon monoxide and mold.

Radon: This odorless, colorless gas naturally rises from soil and bedrock. It makes its way into the home through cracked floors, dirt floors and poorly sealed basements. High levels of this gas can increase a person's chance of developing lung cancer. Radon detectors can be found at most hardware stores and are the only way to test for the presence of radon in your home. You can prevent the buildup of radon in your home by properly sealing windows, doors and any cracks in the basement and foundation of your home.  Luckily for the Tulsa area, this is not a common pollutant we are faced with.

Carbon Monoxide: Also called CO, carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. CO is generated by the fuel-burning process, such as gas stoves, furnaces and water heaters. Over-exposure to the gas can cause CO to build up in the blood stream, resulting in headaches, nausea, dizziness and even death. The only way to detect CO in your home is with a carbon monoxide detector. Avoid high levels of CO by properly ventilating your home. You should also only use approved heaters and furnaces to heat your home. If you believe there are high levels of CO in your home leave the house and call local professionals.

Mold: Mold is a biological pollutant that grows in damp conditions. These conditions can be caused by high humidity, leaking pipes or a high condensation rate. Mold can cause an array of heath problems, from simple eye irritation to life threatening allergic reactions. Signs of mold growth include a musty smell and discoloration of floors, walls or ceilings. You can remove small growths of mold through aggressive cleaning. The best way to control mold growth is through proper ventilation, not allowing wet conditions to prevail in the home and by the use of ultraviolet light irradiation technology in the HVAC system.

To find out more about common air pollutants and other HVAC information contact Air Assurance, serving the Broken Arrow area for more than 20 years.

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Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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Why Is Proper Home Ventilation Important?

Home ventilation is an important part of maintaining high indoor air quality. Without a properly-operating vent system, your home would retain too much moisture, quickly becoming stuffy and full of chemical contaminants, such as those produced by household cleaners and plastics. A properly-working vent system can help eliminate some of these problems.According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), a home should have about 0.35 air changes per hour to maintain healthy indoor air quality. This means that the air in the home completely changes about once every three hours. The best way to ensure proper ventilation is to use a three-part strategic plan to keep the air flowing in and out of your home. These parts include natural venting, spot venting and whole-house venting.

• Natural ventilation is the venting process that occurs naturally throughout the house by opening and closing doors to the outside, or when air escapes under door cracks, out windows, or through outdoor air vents. This natural venting is good for airflow, but bad for energy consumption. Most homes try to eliminate much of the natural venting to save on heating and cooling costs.

• Spot venting is the type of venting used in bathrooms and kitchens to force indoor air out. These spot systems are especially beneficial while cooking and cleaning when smells and chemicals are in the air. ASHRAE recommends continuous or intermittent use of spot ventilation while cooking or cleaning.

• Whole-house venting uses the home's vent and duct system, including fans and blowers. This system is part of every forced-air venting system and brings in new air from outside and draws out stale air.

Most homes already have at least the first two vent systems built into the heating and cooling system. However, there are always ways to improve on existing systems in your Broken Arrow home. Contact us at Air Assurance Heating and Air Conditioningfor more information on how to properly vent your house and improve the indoor air quality inside your home.Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Air Assurance services Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas. Visit our websiteto see our current promotionsand get started today!     Insulation and ventilation material image via Shutterstock